


Black Lightning

by camichats



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Black Tony Stark, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22900336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Tony has a favorite superhero, and it's not Captain America.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	Black Lightning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [periwinklepromise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklepromise/gifts).



> Fill for Tony Stark bingo: S3-Therapy

Howard did little else but talk about Steve Rogers, Captain America and the world's only super soldier-- pointing out that Red Skull had been enhanced first was a bad idea, but he'd done it a few extra times just to make sure-- and that's not to say that Howard didn't occasionally talk about other things, but they were always bad. Sometimes he'd ask why Tony didn't know how to do something Howard had only learned three years ago. Other times he'd be the angry level of drunk, and he'd scream that Tony didn't know how to do _anything_. Any time he spoke fondly of a topic around Tony, it was Captain America. 

Tony didn't mean to hate Captain America. It's not like he had decided one day that he was going to hate him because of mistakes and bad decisions the man had made. He just... wasn't interested in him. Captain America was Howard's obsession, and chances were that he'd see any interest from Tony in him as threatening or defiling or some shit. Maria had gotten killed by a cop when Tony was seven, and ever since then, Howard seemed to hate that Tony was black-- even though it was a decision that Howard had made, to marry Maria and have a child with her, and all Tony had done was be born. So Howard hated Tony, and Tony hated him right back. Howard loved Captain America, so Tony hated any time he was brought up. 

Of all the superheros out there, Captain America was the only one that had been real, but he was hardly the only one worth liking. It was one of those things, that Tony had learned to hate Captain America because of Howard, that he forgot other people actually liked the guy. He was in the lab at MIT when some of the other guys (no women, because there had only been one woman in the lab when he started, and she'd gotten bullied so bad that she dropped out) started talking about superheros. 

Of the eight other guys, four of them had Captain America as a favorite, two of them liked Superman, and the other two liked Batman. "Hey Stark!" someone shouted, Tony was pretty sure his name was Eric. 

"Yeah?" he asked, not looking up. 

"Who's your favorite superhero?" 

"Black Lightning." 

"Who's that?" 

"He's a black superhero." 

"Oh, so that's why we don't know him." 

"Yeah," Tony said, and they all turned back to their conversation. Jim’s favorite was Black Lightning too, but he was black so they probably wouldn’t appreciate Tony bringing that up; normally it wouldn’t stop him, but he was getting work done in here for once and he wasn’t going to jeopardize that. He's glad they didn't ask for a second favorite, because Tony didn't really read comics, only Black Lightning. Jarvis had brought him back the first issue a month or so after Maria had been killed, and it made him feel better, to think that even in a fictional universe, there was something to be done. Sure, Captain America had killed Nazi's, but who had he directly helped? If Tony were in a more charitable mood towards Captain America, he would acknowledge that they'd been in a war and he died before he was able to do anything, and he hadn't had his powers early enough to do anything with them. 

But still. Black Lightning was pretty fucking cool. 

* * *

"...and here he is, I'm sure you're anxious to meet him," the Shield agent was saying, practically brimming with excitement. She opened the door to show Captain America. Or, more accurately, Steve Rogers. He wasn't in his uniform, and he was sitting on a chair tapping at a tablet instead of holding the shield. "Captain Rogers, this is Tony Stark, Iron Man. I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted," she said, and she closed the door when she left as if they didn't know that the room had surveillance. 

Steve pulled on a smile that looked painful and got to his feet, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you." 

Tony had been dreading this meeting since Fury told him about their fishing expedition, but now that he was here, he was reminded of how full of shit Howard had been. Steve was just a man. A ridiculously buff and disproportionally strong one, but a man all the same. He was looking at Tony like he was afraid he was going to start gushing about how he was such a big fan and would it be too much to ask for a picture? Tony shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too. So. Have they let you out at all?" he asked, looking around the room. It could be more depressing, as far as Shield rooms went, but it still wasn't very nice. The man had been launched seventy years in the future, and this dressed up box wasn't going to help his depression. Not that Tony knew for a fact he had depression, but how could he not? 

"No. They're uh, afraid the future's going to shock me or something." 

"Nothing's more shocking than me. A flying suit of armor? C'mon, that's the coolest thing you're going to see in a while. You hungry? We can go grab a bite, I can't imagine they're feeding you anything good in here." 

Steve blinked, then got to his feet hurriedly, like he was afraid the offer was on a time limit. "That sounds great, but are you allowed to do that?" he asked, but at the same time he was pulling on a jacket-- ill fitting and a horrid shade of tan that clashed with his pale skin; they really should've gotten someone with a sense of style to buy Steve's clothes. 

"Fury can't stop me even if he wants to," Tony said with a grin, and the best part was that it was true. Fury couldn't really afford to piss Tony off right now. Why? He didn't know. But Fury wouldn't have called him in purely to meet Captain America. "Is there any style you're wanting to try first?" 

"Is it boring if I say I just want some pizza? Haven't had a slice since I got the serum." 

"It probably tastes different, but you got it, man: pizza." 

They left the room, and during the walk from Steve's room to Tony's car, a couple people made as if to stop them, but thought better of it before they made contact. "See?" Tony said when they got to the car. 

"You must be pretty swell to be able to do something like this," Steve said, a healthy flush to his cheeks. Did they not see that keeping him cooped up was terrible for him? Really? An entire building full of spies and no one thought about it? Actually, what had probably happened was that they thought about it and dismissed the idea because he was Captain America and he could do anything. They got in the car, and Steve sighed at how comfortable the seat was. "So who's your favorite superhero? Most people love Captain America. So much that they won't shut up about it," he added quietly, with a twist to his mouth. 

Tony snorted, shooting Steve an amused look before pulling onto the road. 

"Is it you?" 

"What?" 

"Your favorite superhero, is it you?" Steve asked, and he wasn't judging in the slightest. He was smiling at Tony like he could see why he'd be everyone's favorite. 

"No one's ever accused me of being humble," Tony joked, "but it's Black Lightning." 

"Black Lightning. Is that another black superhero?" 

"Yeah, only trouble is he's fictional. I wish he was real, that'd be pretty cool." 

"What does he do? In the comics, I mean." 

"He draws electric energy in and lets it out like controlled lightning, hence the name. He fights gangs, cleans up the streets in his city, gets revenge on the man that killed his father, spends time with his family," Tony trailed off with a shrug. "Normal comics shit." 

"Sounds good," Steve said softly, like his mind was a million miles away. 

"You okay?" Tony asked, glancing at him. 

"That's the sort of hero I wanted to be when I got back," he admitted quietly. "Take care of the war, then get home and help people out. The big battles were bloody, but it's the small ones that kill you in the end. Wear you down until you don't _want_ to fight anymore." Steve sighed, rubbing one hand carefully along the length of his leg, then back up. It was a soothing move, one that had clearly been self prescribed. God, Shield _really_ wasn't paying attention. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. It sounds like a good comic." 

"I think so, but then, I grew up with it. And it was cool, you know? Having a hero that looked like me, thinking that maybe one day I'd get to be like him." 

"And you made it." 

Tony's heart skipped a beat. "What?" 

"You're a hero. I've seen the footage, you help people when you have the time." 

"I could be doing more," Tony said, because it was the truth. It didn't matter if he took down one terrorist, the cell was still there. And did it matter if he took down the cell when another would crop up to replace it? So far he'd killed a few bad people with the hopes that it helped someone out in some way, but he didn't know for sure that it was doing anything. 

"You're doing more than anyone else. I mean, me? I'm sitting on my ass in a room with more cameras than I can find. I'm not helping anyone, I'm not doing shit. I'm just... staring at a screen like it can tell me everything that's different." 

"Screens are helpful," Tony defended automatically. "They can tell you a lot, but nothing beats going out there. And hey, while we're out, I'll just forget to give you back. That’s a good life experience you can’t get locked away in a room." 

"Isn't that kidnapping?" Steve asked, but he was smiling. 

"Not if you come willingly. Was there anything in that room you especially liked? I can always barter with Fury to get it back for you." 

"The tight shirts and the pants that don't fit? I don't like them, but it's all I had." 

"Fear not, dear Steven, for my first act as the best real life black superhero, I'll take you shopping. It'll be a fun day out! We'll get pizza, go shopping, maybe even get a facial if you're feeling up for it." 

Steve blinked. "What's a facial?" 

"You'll see," Tony said, patting his shoulder with the hand closer to the middle. "And I promise that you can get the clothes you want with only minimal judging from me." 

"I appreciate the offer, Mister Stark, but I don't have any money." 

"First of all, I'm buying everything for you, I'm one of the top ten richest people alive. Second of all, my name's Tony, you won't wear it out." 

Steve was quiet for a long moment, and Tony was half expecting for him to turn down the offer of clothes shopping and a dashing rescue from his modern day tower. "Thanks, Tony. I- thank you. It's real nice of you to help me out like this." 

"Help you out? Psh, I'm skipping out on a board meeting, and Pepper can't get mad at me if I'm helping you out. Helping anyone else might not work, but she's a Captain America fan, so I think she'll let me slide this time." 

Steve knew that Tony was giving him an out there, and he smiled wider. "Still. Thanks." 

* * *

Steve met Rhodey, and like Tony, he didn’t have the whole stars-in-the-eyes thing going on. “Who’s your favorite superhero?” he asked, because that was probably the cause again. 

“Black Lightning,” he said immediately, and Steve nodded. Tony had let him borrow a few volumes, and they’d been pretty good. Obviously they didn’t resonate with him the way they did with Tony, but they were well done. “Wait, real or fake? Cause if it’s real then it’s Iron Man.” 

“What’s Iron Man?” Tony asked. He kissed Jim on the cheek then stole his coffee, but he poured a new cup from the pot afterwards. 

“The best superhero,” Steve answered. 

“Black Lightning is a close second,” Rhodey said, hand out for the mug Tony had just poured. “I would be my own second favorite if _someone_ would give me a suit.” 

“Good things to those who wait, honey bear.” 

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Tony.”


End file.
